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Columbia College-Lake County campus to hold commencement Saturday, August 15Thursday, August 06, 2009

The Lake County campus of Columbia College will hold its commencement ceremony on Saturday, August 15 in the James Lumber Center for the Performing Arts located at the College of Lake County, Grayslake, Illinois.

Ruth Purschwitz Meissen '79, 2007-08 Illinois Teacher of the Year and recipient of the college's 2009 Professional Achievement Award, will be commencement speaker. Meissen, who began her career as a commercial artist then segued into teaching art to middle schoolers, has traveled the country as a teaching ambassador. After Hurricane Katrina hit, Meissen also got her students to adopt a school in New Orleans devastated by the flooding.

A total of 204 students will graduate in the commencement ceremony. Of that number, 76 associate degrees will be awarded, 125 bachelor's degrees and five master's degrees. Mike Randerson, vice president for Adult Higher Education, will confer the degrees.

Said Stephen H. Stephany, Northern Region and Lake County director, "I am extremely proud of our graduating students. They work hard every day as students, parents and employees, and I salute their academic success and hope for their professional success. It's also an honor to have Ruth Meissen and Mike Randerson present. I hope these two inspiring individuals can further inspire our students."

Randerson was a full colonel in Air Force intelligence serving in Vietnam before launching a second career in higher education.

Columbia College, a private, nonprofit institution founded in 1851 in Columbia, Mo., educates 25,000 students each year and has more than 61,000 alumni worldwide.